InReview: Wherever You Are Tour

Friday, Feb. 17th saw a sold out crowd of 6,000 pack into the Vines Center at Liberty University. The musical lineup: David Crowder Band and Third Day. After waiting in line for over three hours, we were more than ready for the music to begin. And we were not to be disappointed!

David Crowder Band jumped out onto stage, and though I’ve never been a big fan, played an incredible set. The tour is highlighting their newest release, A Collision (or 3 + 4=7) so they predominantly played songs from that record. They played their hit song “Here is our King” and praise song “Foreverandever, etc.” (for which David Crowder pulled out his keytar and laid down a ‘fat beat.’” Other songs included “O praise Him (All this for a king)” and “Undignified.” Perhaps their most impressive number was their rock opera “You are my Joy” off their latest CD. David Crowder set the tone for the show, getting the crowd up and jumping on one song, and getting everyone to sing along. David Crowder summed it up when he said “Y’all sound real pretty. But tonight, we want less pretty, more loud!” From talking about Third Day and the tour to Josh Groban (who Crowder thinks has a pretty voice), David Crowder knew just how to keep the crowd involved. David Crowder Band was utterly amazing!

Tai Anderson, the bass player from Third Day, came out before intermission and gave a talk about a mission trip he took, and about Third Day’s partnership with World Vision. Then, after the intermission, Third Day stormed the stage. The crowd was electrified as Mac Powell opened the set with “Tunnel” off of their latest album. This was only the second show of the “Wherever You Are” tour, thus Third Day was fresh and alive. The group went on to perform “Creed,” a cover of Rich Mullins’ song, and “Consuming Fire,” one of the first songs the group ever wrote. The tour is promoting the band’s latest CD “Wherever You Are” and so songs from that album got their fair share of play, from Brad Avery’s “Eagles” and Marc Lee’s “Keep on Shinin’” to “Communion,” a soft and reverent song about the Lord’s Supper. But old songs were not forgotten. The group performed “King of Glory” off their first worship album, and also played “Thief” off of their first album, which they rarely play live. Midway through the concert, Third Day broke it down acoustically, playing personal favorite “I’ve always love you” and “Your Love oh Lord.” Then, Mac Powell with his acoustic guitar played a beautiful rendition of the hymn “Blessed Assurance.” On the last chorus, the group backed him up and the result was awesome.

In between songs, Mac gave a few talks about the tour and what God has been speaking to him about lately. Also, Mac and Mark decided this was the group’s 1000th show, which stuck, and was referenced to several times throughout the show. The group finished up with “Show me your glory” and “Nothing Compares” before being ushered back on stage to a thunderous ovation. Mac Powell said he was disappointed with Liberty, because he heard people asking for one more song and he wanted to do several. The group played “Come together,” their latest hit “Cry out to Jesus” and finished with “God of Wonders.”
Third Day put on a great show, mixing the new with the old (although it would have been great to have heard a few more of their older songs) but seemed to lack some of the energy that David Crowder Band had. David Crowder engaged the crowd much more, getting the crowd pumped up. But both groups did a fantastic job, and the concert, overall, was a great night of music.

Photos taken from here